China to start issuing new tourism passports as Lunar New Year approaches amid wave of COVID cases
By Ciara Linnane
Cases are rising in 22 states, led by Kentucky, while Northeast leads on a per capita basis
The Chinese government said it would begin taking applications for new tourism passports in the second week of January, after halting issuance in early 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic to stop people from traveling in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus.
China has of late experienced the world's largest explosion of COVID infections, at an estimated million-plus a day, according to minutes released from a December meeting of China's National Health Commission, as MarketWatch's Tanner Brown reported.
See also:China reports 60,000 COVID-related deaths, says peak passed
Related: China reports first population drop in decades as birthrates plunge
China has only recently lifted stringent restrictions on travel and movement, daily testing and the need to show a digital "green pass" to enter many public facilities. Strict lockdowns have prevented the population from building up some of the natural immunity that has provided a level of protection to people in other countries.
Authorities said in December that, beginning on Jan. 8, foreign arrivals would no longer be subject to quarantine, and airlines that bring in passengers who test positive will not be penalized -- a measure that had riled passenger carriers for the past year.
The news comes as the country braces for the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts Jan. 21. Officials and health experts are worried that the typical travel that takes place as many Chinese people return to their hometowns to visit family will accelerate the surge of cases.
In the U.S., the seven-day average of new U.S. COVID cases stood at 59,342 on Tuesday, according to a New York Times tracker. That's flat from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve.
The daily average for hospitalizations was down 11% at 41,280. The average for deaths, however, was 537, up 73% from two weeks ago. The Times trackers posited that the spike in deaths had more to do with data anomalies in recent reporting, which tends to become distorted around holiday periods when hospitals and healthcare centers are more thinly staffed.
See also: Americans are facing years of 'tripledemic' winters that may put patients with other ailments at risk, Jha says
Cases are rising in 22 states, led by Kentucky, where they have climbed 167% in two weeks. On a per capita basis, the Northeast remains a hot spot, with Rhode Island leading with 37 cases for every 100,000 residents.
Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch's daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began
Other COVID-19 news you should know about:
-- Novavax (NVAX) said South Korea has approved its protein-based COVID vaccine as a booster for adults aged 18 and older. The company said its partner SK Bioscience has received from the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded manufacturing and marketing approval for adults, regardless of previous vaccine history.
-- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the central bank announced Wednesday, as MarketWatch's Greg Robb reported. Powell is working remotely while isolating at home, the statement said. The next Fed interest-rate committee meeting in on Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The Fed chairman is up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. Powell will be 70 in February.
-- West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice tested positive for the coronavirus Tuesday, hours after meeting with West Virginia University athletic director Wren Baker and Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Huggins, the governor's office said, according to the AP That is the second time the Republican governor has tested positive for COVID-19, following a positive result in January 2022 that forced him to postpone his annual State of the State address. The governor is fully vaccinated and boosted.
See now:CDC to investigate 'safety signal' for Pfizer's updated COVID booster
-- Burberry Group PLC said third-quarter comparable-store sales rose slightly but missed market views due to the impact of COVID-related disruptions in China, while retail revenue rose, Dow Jones Newswires reported The British luxury-goods company said retail revenue for the 13 weeks ending Dec. 31 came in at GBP756 million ($928.9 million), compared with GBP723 million for the same period a year ago. Comparable-store sales rose 1% compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2022, below market expectations of 2%, according to the company's compiled consensus based on 14 different analysts' estimates.
Here's what the numbers say:
The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 667.6 million on Wednesday, while the death toll rose above 6.72 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. leads the world with 101.7 million cases and 1,100,609 fatalities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's tracker shows that 229.4 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.
So far, just 49.6 million Americans, equal to 15.9% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.
-Ciara Linnane
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 19, 2023 07:22 ET (12:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.